Take Your Guests to an Unforgettable Alaska Summer Experience!

As an Alaska resident, you take pride in your state when someone decides to pay you a visit. Show them that your state can provide more fun than any other state ever could! Keep reading to learn how!

DIY Alaska Summer Tours

Every single one of us takes great pride in the areas we live in. And what better way is there to brag about the amazing landscapes and all the fun your state can provide than showing off in front of your guests? Since summer has come, and school breaks and vacations are starting, the time is ideal for having visitors.

You can show just how good of a host you can be, and there is no need to hire some fancy, expensive tourist guide or anything of that sort. Instead, you will be in charge of each tour and dazzle your friends and family. Besides, this isn’t an exact science, so it’s literally impossible not to have a wonderful time together.

Fortunately enough, you don’t have to do it all by yourself, there are some guidelines you can use to help you. For instance, you can obtain ADN’s Visitor’s Guide. And of course, if you have just the tiniest bit of skill for this, our guide should suffice.

The Coolest Drive Along the Turnagain Arm

This tour should start at Anchorage, go through Girdwood, and end in Portage. This interesting day trip begins with one of the best drives along the Turnagain Arm. However, before you start the tour and leave town, you should make a quick stop at the Potter Marsh and enjoy a boardwalk stroll with your folks. Watch out for birds though. Just head down to the end of the path where salmon swim upwards from the creek. However, don’t take your fishing rod with you because there’s no fishing at the Potter Marsh.

The first stop you should schedule is the Alyeska Resort. Over there, you can go outside and hang out by the Roundhouse or just hike around. If you are an energetic hiker, you can climb. If not, you can have a free ride down the mountain. Also, there is an option of renting bikes and heading up to the mountain top by using a trail. Either way, once you climb this mountain, enjoy it thoroughly and then jump back into your car and hit the highway.

In case you want this trip to reveal all of Alaska’s wild critters in a single stop, go straight to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. No one can guarantee that bears will be out the moment you arrive; however, wood bison are a sure thing. And at the center, there is a whole herd of these animals. You can also spot eagles, musk ox, caribou, and mosses.

Afterward, visit Portage’s Alaska Railroad depot. At precisely 1:25 p.m. each day, a train leaves for Spencer Glacier. It is only a twenty-minute ride, but it’s a fun and exciting trip. The best part of it is a train drop-off to the lake. From this spot, you’ll have the best possible view of the glacier, and you get to spend three hours there because that’s when the train returns.

A Boat Ride

If you choose this way of transportation, you can go on the twenty-six-glaciers cruise, or ride out to Blackstone Bay. We suggest you wake up and hit the road early to make it in time for the tunnel opening.

Big Glaciers and Animal World

Here is some bad news for those of you who like to sleep till noon — if you want to enjoy this next destination, you’ll have to wake up very early. This tourist attraction requires a 127-mile drive from Anchorage. Once you get to the small boat harbor, you can catch numerous cruises which will take you to the Kenai Fjords National Park with Kenai Fjords Tours or Major Marine Tours.

You can count on spending some seven to eight hours on the water. Well, that’s how long people usually stay, and it’s always a blast. You can see sea lions, eagles, puffins, lots of sea birds, dall porpoises, and whales. And as a cherry on top, there are two massive glaciers — Aialik Glacier and Bear Glacier.

Just in case you don’t feel like taking a boat ride, you can always hike to a glacier. We suggest visiting the Alaska Sealife Center; who can ever get tired of watching sea lions swim in big aquariums? Animals around the state which are rescued end up in the Alaska Sealife Center.

220 Miles in One Day

If you think that a 220-mile drive from Anchorage to Homer isn’t possible, you are wrong. But here’s the catch — don’t expect to do many activities once you get there because you might be a bit worn-out, all thanks to the long drive. This town is suitable for doing some calm and peaceful things like getting up early and going fishing.

There are small boats on the Homer Spit you can use. Once you get to the Spit, you can catch the Seldovia Ferry and visit the town in the afternoon. Also, you can take a water taxi and see Grewingk Glacier. Make sure to pack your lunch and ask the captain to pick you up in a different location. This way, you can check out the Halibut Cove on your way back.

Head North to Talkeetna

Why wouldn’t you head north to Talkeetna? In fact, even though many of your guests just might insist on going to Denali, you should consider this instead. So, basically, you can take them over there, and just go ahead and keep driving an extra hundred miles which will lead you to Talkeetna’s entrance.

In case your friends want to have an even better sneak-peek of the mountain, dazzle them with a two-hour drive to this amazing mother nature’s masterpiece. You don’t even have to drive. There are other, more exciting ways for you to get there. Namely, there is a jet boat ride if you contact Mahay’s JetBoat Adventures.

Also, there is an exciting trip up the Susitna River, which ends at Trapper’s Camp. As a nice little bonus, you can get some great pictures of Foraker, Hunter, and Denali from the water. You can even come across some beautiful animals, like moose, bears, and beavers. If you’d like an extra kick to the adventure, choose the “Devil’s Canyon Adventure.” This one takes visitors into some Class V waters, further up the river.

You can also spice this road trip by using the zip line or bike rentals and taking some craft beer down at the Denali Brewing.